Ice damage

Meredith docks repair in time for holiday weekend

MEREDITH -- Workers from a local marine contracting firm dropped a barge in Meredith Bay this week, beginning several days of repair work on the town docks in time for Memorial Day weekend.

The docks, which are heavily used on Memorial Day and all summer long by boaters coming into and leaving Meredith Bay, were damaged when the ice left Lake Winnipesaukee earlier in the spring.

As the ice was moving off the bay, it left significant damage, said Public Works Director Michael Faller.

It's happened before, he said. In 2007, there was similar damage, and likely in years before then, he said. The problem occurs when weather elements combine in just the right way, with winds pushing the ice in the right direction.

The town has been given a repair permit with the Department of Environmental Services. The work is being done by Ambrose Marine Construction of Meredith.

The project will likely cost several thousand dollars, Faller said.

The town has taped off the end of the affected decks to prevent people from using them, as they are unsafe.

Ambrose crews were on the scene Wednesday, having dropped a barge with some heavy equipment in the lake. Workers pulled it to the front of the dock, where they began removing the damaged pilings.

The crew's job is to remove five damaged support pilings and two boat tie-off pilings and replace them, with some carpentry work to be done as well. There will be no drilling involved. Instead, the loader bucket will pound the top of each post into the lake bottom, said Tobin Green, supervisor of the project for Ambrose.

Green said the work is scheduled to be done by the end of the week, just in time for holiday boaters.

"That is unless we find surprises," he said, such as more damage than had been previously found in the docks.